Viejas Indians, state officials alarmed by work on sacred site

The Padre Dam parcel near Lakeside was recently declared a "sanctified cemetery" by the California Native American Heritage Commission.

The Padre Dam parcel near Lakeside was recently declared a "sanctified cemetery" by the California Native American Heritage Commission. (John Gibbins)

The Viejas Indians and state officials expressed serious concern Thursday after an East County water agency dispatched work crews to a parcel near Lakeside that has been declared a sacred burial site.

Padre Dam Municipal Water District officials said workers this week laid down rock and large tubes of straw as part of an erosion-control effort on the 2.5-acre property -- land that a Superior Court judge has declared off limits in light of a legal dispute.

Al Lau, the district's lead engineer, said regional water-quality officials require such steps on construction sites. The district still hopes to build a pump station and pipeline on the land.

Representatives of the Viejas Indians and the California Native American Heritage Commission said news of the project caught them by surprise. They were looking into whether it may have violated a recent preliminary injunction banning construction on the site.

Viejas attorney Steven McDonald said even if the erosion-control measures were well-intentioned, "there is a court order... Normally no means no."

Antonette Cordero, a deputy state attorney general who advises the heritage commission, said she was unaware of the work until Thursday. She said she looking into the matter.

Water district spokesman Mike Uhrhammer said late Thursday that the agency does not consider the work a violation of the court injunction because the labor did not involve actual construction. He said, however, that the district should have alerted the state and Viejas about it to avoid any confusion.

The state commission recently declared the site a "sanctified cemetery," spurring the state Attorney General's Office to join Viejas in suing Padre Dam over the pipeline project.

Human bone fragments were discovered on the property after the water district prepared to build the pipeline, which the agency is needed as part of a new, $20 million water-transmission network.

Lau said regional water-quality officials can fine agencies that fail to take erosion-control measures on work sites. Agency officials said none of the soil was removed or treated by chemicals.

"The steps taken will, in fact, protect the site, the soil, and anything else on the site through the months ahead," said Uhrhammer.

In recent weeks, Padre Dam and Indian leaders have privately engaged in court-ordered talks in an effort to resolve the fate of the fenced-off parcel near Ridge Hill Road, south of Interstate 8.